


parataxis

by Anonymous



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Developing Relationship, Domestic, Drama, Eventual Romance, Family Drama, Fluff, Growing Up, Living Together, M/M, Multi, Pseudo-Incest, Slow Burn, Soap Opera, Step-Sibling Incest, Teenage Drama, forbidden relationship (tm), just your average otome game plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 19:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11607261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: He can't ruin his mother's hard-won happiness over his senseless infatuation. Especially when the Matsuoka family prove to be hiding their own secrets, secrets that test the strength of Aiichirou's feelings towards his new stepbrothers.





	parataxis

**Author's Note:**

> whenever i write i do my research. though it often results in questionable bookmarks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prototype chapter. if ai-chan calls me "onii-chan!" i can die happy.

"We must thank the Matsuoka family for generously taking you in," Nagisa says, dabbing at the corner of his eye with a pink handkerchief. "For you to be able to marry into such a family - "

"Please stop saying things that will give people the wrong idea," Aiichirou says, slumping down onto the table.

Nagisa pokes at his forehead. "I don't understand why you're complaining," he says. "You get to live with two of the most high-spec guys in our school."

"But it must be hard adjusting to having three new family members all of a sudden," Rei says. He elbows Nagisa. "You should try and sympathise a little too."

"Right, right!" Nagisa jumps up and slams his hands down on the table. "Ai-chan, there's a real danger of you being attacked!"

He raises his head, blinking. "Eh? Attacked?" 

"Yeah!" Nagisa clenches his fist. "You know, like jealous rivals hiding your shoes, or putting needles in your gym clothes - "

"That's definitely way too shoujo manga-like," Aiichirou says. He worries at his lip. Although really, the whole situation is like something out of a manga. 

Nagisa leans forward and clasps Aiichirou's hand in his, eyes sparkling. "Ai-chan, I'm worried about your safety and virtue!" Abruptly he drops Aiichirou's hand and whirls around. "So isn't it great your knights in shining armour have come to escort you home?"

"Eh? What - "

"You're way too noisy, Nagisa."

Aiichirou starts. "S-Senpai?"

"Yo," he says, flashing a shark-toothed grin, his hands crossed atop the window sill. "Want to go home together?" He jabs his thumb over his shoulder. "Sousuke got discount coupons for a cafe nearby."

"A-ah, yes!" Aiichirou scrambles to get his things in order, nearly tripping over his own feet in his eagerness to get out of the classroom. "Ah, Hazuki-kun, Ryuugazaki-kun, see you tomorrow!"

"A-apologies for making you wait," he says.

"It's fine," Matsuoka-senpai says with an easy smile. "Actually, more than that, it's been bothering me for a while but," he scratches the back of his neck, looking almost sheepish, "Well, there's no need to be so formal when you speak, now that we're family."

"Eh?" Aiichirou flusters. "Ah, I mean, e-even so, I also have to respect my o-older - older brothers."

Yamazaki-senpai raises an eyebrow. "You say that but what was that you said just now?" He sighs. "'Senpai'?"

Matsuoka-senpai bumps his shoulder against Yamazaki-senpai's. "Oi, Sousuke," he says. "You have the opposite problem! You can stand to talk a little less roughly."

"I can't help it," he says, turning his face. 

Aiichirou's not sure if he hears the next part right - Yamazaki-senpai muttering, "I'm nervous too."

"What should I - h-how would you prefer to be addressed?" Aiichirou splutters.

"That again huh," Matsuoka-senpai says with a laugh. 

Aiichirou bites his lip and peeks up nervously. "Th-then...Rin-niisan and S-Sou-niisan?"

"It's fine to drop the 'san'," Rin says, slinging an arm over Aiichirou's shoulder and grinning, "Ai."

He flushes. "Ah, okay," he says, dizzy from the thought of how many people would kill to be in his position right now. 

"Then, can we go now?" Sousuke asks, standing beside Aiichirou.

The cafe turns out to be a small, quiet tucked into a corner. Everything inside seems tinted sepia, warmed by the soft afternoon light.

They take a seat by the window at a - thankfully - round table. Rin picks up the menu from the centre of the table and hands it to him. "Here," he says. "You can look first."

"We can just look at it together," Aiichirou says, and immediately regrets it when both of them take it as invitation to move their chairs closer together and read over his shoulder, crowding him with their warmth.

"This cafe's parfaits are pretty good," Sousuke says. He frowns. "Oh, they just ran out of green tea parfait. Sorry, Ni - A-Aichi - Ai."

"Eh? Ah, no it's fine," Aiichirou says. Does Sou-nii somehow know he likes green tea parfait? Maybe it's just a coincidence.

They decide on their orders just as a waitress appears. "Oh, Yamazaki! You came."

"Otomiya," Sousuke says with a smile. "Thanks for the coupons."

Aiichirou watches them chat, Otomiya fiddling with her glossy, honey-brown hair, a smile playing on her lips. Indistinctly behind him he hears murmurs admiring Sousuke and Rin. They stand out, after all, with their finely-made faces and athletic build. Aiichirou feels painfully out of place.

"Ai? Are you feeling alright?" Rin squints at him with eyes full of concern, then presses his hand against Aiichirou's forehead - far too close.

Aiichirou jerks away. "I'm fine!" He forces a smile. "Aha, it's just - the two of you really stand out." He glances around, then lowers his voice. "It looks like a lot of the customers looking here."

"Huh? Isn't that because Ai's cute?" Sousuke says.

"Eh?!"

Rin laughs and reaches out to ruffle Aiichirou's hair. "You're small and cute, maybe we look like we're harassing you."

"There's no way that's true," Aiichirou blurts out. "Matsu - Rin-nii is so gentle, and Sou-nii is very kind!"

He turns pink, partly from the earlier comment about him being, of all things, _cute_ , partly from how embarrassing and presumptuous it was, to have an outburst like that. Sousuke and Rin look slightly taken aback too, but before Aiichirou can say anything, Otomiya returns with their food.

He shoves a spoonful of strawberry ice cream into his mouth before he can embarrass himself further. 

"Oh!" he says. "It's really good."

"Is that so?" Sousuke smiles faintly. "That's good."

"Sou-nii, do you want some?" Aiichirou holds out a spoonful towards him. 

A warm hand clamps around his wrist as Sousuke angles the spoon up towards his mouth. His lips close over the spoon, and a pink tongue darts out to lick at the stray drops. 

Aiichirou doesn't move a few seconds after Sousuke lets go. His wrist feels hot, almost as if he could find fingermarks singed into his skin if he looked. 

"It's sweet," Sousuke says.

"Y-yeah," Aiichirou squeaks. He ducks his head and concentrates on the parfait, a cold dessert that is doing absolutely nothing to help him cool down.

At Rin's suggestion, they stop by the arcade at the mall nearby, where he drags Sousuke into a 2P shoot-out game. Video games have never really been Aiichirou's thing, so he slinks off to buy drinks for them.

"Sorry," he says when he comes back. "There was only one Cola left so - "

"I won this round, so it's mine," Sousuke says. He picks out the other drink from the bag - oolong tea - and tosses it to Rin.

"Tch." Rin makes a face. His gaze lands on the open can in Aiichirou's hand. "Ai, what's that?"

"Oh, it's melon cream soda," he says.

"Alright," Rin says. "Then, the next round is the battle for who gets an indirect kiss from Ai!"

Aiichirou flushes. "W-wait - "

"Indirect kiss? Seriously, are you a kid or something?" Sousuke says, amused.

"So it's fine if I just help myself then," Rin says, making to get off the seat.

Sousuke puts out an arm to stop him. "Hold on." He raises an eyebrow. "Spoils of war are not to be freely given."

Rin grins. "Oh, it's on!"

He bites back the laughter that flutters beneath his chest. Hazuki-kun would be shocked if this is how "living with two of the most high-spec guys of our school" is like. 

"Ganba!" he says.

"That was for me, right?" Rin says.

Sousuke snorts. "Yeah, because you're the one who needs it more - crap!"

"Yes!" Rin pumps his fist. "It's my win." He hops off the seat, wraps his long, sure fingers around the can atop of Aiichirou's, and lifts the can to his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows.

Aiichirou blinks, then jumps. "Matsuoka-senpai!?"

Rin releases the can - Aiichirou nearly drops it - an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry, did you not want to share - "

"Ah, no, I was just - surprised," Aiichirou says to his shoes. He didn't think Rin would actually do it.

"Ni - Ai, do you want to try it out?" Sousuke points to the console.

He shakes his head. "I'm not very good at games like that," he says sheepishly.

"Hm." Sousuke's gaze flickers between him and Rin. "I can teach you." He grins at Rin. "I'm a better teacher than this idiot, at least."

"Oi!"

He doesn't manage to stop his laughter this time. "Okay." He smiles at Sousuke. "Then, I'll be in your care."

Sousuke helps him up the bulky chair. "The aim of the game is to shoot more zombies than the other person." He hooks his chin over Aiichirou's shoulder and points at the various buttons. "This one's to shoot, this one to reload, and these are just movement."

Aiichirou nods. "Got it," he says, and loses terribly.

"This is my turf after all," Rin says, puffing his chest out. 

(Sousuke's voice urging him on right by his ear, his presence so close - it didn't help either. Anyone would be nervous in that kind of situation.)

"It's getting late," Sousuke says, glancing at his watch. 

"We'll go home after one more game," Rin says.

Sousuke snorts, but the look on his face is undeniably fond. "It's always 'one more game' with you."

Rin crosses over to the other side and studies the crane machine and its bright, blinking lights. He glances over his shoulder at Aiichirou. "Ai, is there anything you want?"

"Sen - Rin-nii, there's no need - "

"It's fine!" He ruffles Aiichirou's hair again. "I want to."

"The question is, _can_ you," Sousuke teases. He glances sideways at Aiichirou. "It's okay to be a little selfish sometimes, you know." 

"Yeah." Rin slings his arm around Aiichirou's shoulders and smiles at him. "You've worked hard until now, but now you have two cool older brothers to spoil you as much as you want."

Aiichirou fidgets. "Then, if it's okay," he bites his lip, "Maybe the big rabbit one over there...?"

"Easy," Rin says, rolls up his sleeves, and fails.

"I'll show you how it's done," Sousuke says, and fails.

"It's fine really!" Aiichirou says anxiously. "It's hard to beat these machines - "

"Oh I won," Rin says.

"That's not a rabbit," Sousuke says. He prods at the nose of the shark stuffed toy. "The opposite, actually."

"It's cooler than a rabbit," Rin retorts. He holds it up to Aiichirou and grins. "Check out its teeth!"

"They look like yours, Rin-nii!" Aiichirou says.

Rin bumps the shark's nose against Aiichirou's.  
"Yup," he says. "This little guy will watch over you whenever I can't."

"What an ingenious way to disguise your failure," Sousuke says, playing with the shark's fin.

There's a feeling in his chest like sweet, warm pancakes fluffing up in the oven. Before he can change his mind, he hugs Rin. "Thank you, Rin-nii," he says.

Maybe it's his imagination, but he swears Rin turns the faintest shade of red. "No problem," he says. "As long as you like it."

He pulls back and takes a step towards Sousuke before he hesitates. 

Sousuke sighs exasperatedly. "Come here, you," he says, and pulls Aiichirou into a hug. "Next time I'll win you what you _actually_ want."

"It's fine." Aiichirou beams up at the two of them. "I got more than what I wished for already."

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments appreciated. depending on the reception, i'll decide which route i want to take this down (having several different ideas in mind). all roads lead to rome (read: porn), hopefully.


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